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Feb 24, 2009

Kathy rated it:

With his father shipped off to Iraq and his older brothers away, 11-year-old Ignatius "Brother" Alderman works with his grandparents to keep their Oregon ranch going, while coming to realize what he really wants to do with his life. Wonderfully moving story of a sensitive kid trying to do a man's job in a world that asks much of a person. The setting, in the Oregon plains surrounded by mountains, is beautifully depicted, with lots of ranch detail and much appreciation, by the charact More...

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Jun 03, 2011

H rated it:

I'm stubbornly giving this a 4th star, though I'm not sure how many kids will be attracted to or like this quiet tale of a 12 year old boy growing up on a modern day ranch in Oregon. Ignatius (called "Brother" by one and all) is the youngest of 5 motherless boys who live with their father and grandparents on a cattle and sheep ranch. At the beginning of the story, their father is shipping out (along with many of their neighbors) to a tour of duty in Iraq. The oldest 4 boys are vario More...

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Mar 27, 2009

Jamie rated it:

This is a quiet, sensitive book about a 12-year old boy who takes on some new responsibilities when his father is shipped off to Iraq.

It has a strong sense of family and a VERY strong sense of place.
It also does a great job of talking about spirituality in a very "un-didactic" way.

I think rural kids especially would love seeing themselves in a book like this one.

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Dec 26, 2009

Abby rated it:

Ignatius (everyone calls him "Brother") is the youngest of five boys and the only one left at home when his dad is called to fight in Iraq. He must help his grandfather keep up the ranch - tough work for any kid, but especially for Brother who has never felt called to the ranching life. As Brother gets through the year without his dad, he'll start looking for his own path in life.

This is a quietly powerful novel with a striking sense of place. Parry paints a perfect picture More...

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Jan 11, 2012

Lana added it

A book like this, quiet and deep, is a rare find these days when so many books are fast-lane action all the way. Now I love a good thriller as much as anyone else, but books like "Heart of a Shepherd" are of equal merit.

The sense of place is strong and real. I love the way the main character, even though he is only eleven, thinks about important things and has a strong desire to do right. I believe more kids think like that than we give them credit for. I also like stories More...

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Mar 15, 2010

Claire rated it:

In Brother's small ranching town everyone is military. Most of the adults are reservists, national guard or ROTC. When the Iraq war gears up the unit in his small town (who have only ever been deployed for a week or two at a time)are called up for an extended tour in Iraq. This practically guts the town of the adults, leaving the ranches to the children, some of the women and grandparents. Brother takes on the running of the ranch with his grandpa, his dad is deployed and his brothers are off to More...

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Jun 04, 2011

Lisa rated it:

Ignatius is the youngest of five boys. Everyone just calls him "Brother" because Ignatius just doesn't lend itself to everyday use or a good nickname. The family lives on a remote cattle ranch in Montana or Wyoming. Past the eighth grade, kids have to go to school hundreds of miles away as boarders. All of Brother's brothers are away from home. Either attending high school, college, or in the military. It's just him, his dad, his grandparents, and a hired hand. Mom is mysteriou More...

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Apr 13, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

This is a nice, gentle read which I would recommend to sensitive readers and to parents looking for a wholesome choice. Brother, whose mother has left the family to paint in Italy, lives with his grandparents, father, and four brothers on an Oregon ranch. Actually, that's misleading...his four brothers are older and, although nearby, they are, for all intents and purposes, not living at home. When Brother's father is sent to Iraq to command a troop, Brother is left to mind the ranch along with More...

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Mar 22, 2011

M. rated it:

Ignatius, called Brother since he's the youngest of 5 brothers, wonders what his place will be in the world. All the boys in his family go into the military out of college and then presumably into ranching. In college they major in subjects which will be useful in the Army. Brother's mother lives in Rome and is rarely in contact, his father is in Iraq with his reserve unit, his oldest brother is stationed far away, and the others are away at school. Right now Brother is in 6th grade in a 2-r More...

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Mar 03, 2011

akibird rated it:

Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry (2009)
Contemporary Fiction, 176 pages
Taking care of an entire farm is tough work, but for sixth grader Brother, the pressure is on as the only remaining son to help his grandparents run their Oregon ranch while his father is deployed in Iraq and his brothers are away. Tender-hearted Brother shares his thoughts on being a man and shows that he knows more about ranching than his self-confidence lets him admit. Dealing with the desperate need to gr More...

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Feb 25, 2010

Gregg rated it:

This little book touched on a lot of themes: the hardness of life on a ranch, deployment of a parent in the Iraq war, finding one's place in a family, spirituality (grandmother is Catholic and grandfather is Quaker), nonviolence, the challenges of growing up and finding one's path, immigrant laborers, the tragedy of war, the unpredictability of nature, loss, death... If anything, it seemed to be trying to do almost too much. Still, I liked this book and found myself fighting back tears a numb More...

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Jan 11, 2010

CuriousLibrarian rated it:

It's rare that I read a book and think, "This book could win the Newbery." But this was definitely one of those books.

When the publisher's box came, I set this one aside to read. It called to me in some way. But I kept putting off reading it. It is not my thing at all - ranchers, military families? Not my type of reading. But still I didn't take it off my pile. Once I finally picked it up, I couldn't believe how gripping the story and the character of Brother was.

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Jan 08, 2010

Cindy rated it:

Eleven-year-old Ignatius is the youngest of five sons, which is why everyone just calls him Brother. Growing up on a ranch in slightly populated Malhuer County, Oregon, Brother feels he has always been overshadowed by his older more capable brothers, who have always been around to do the hard work of ranching along with his dad and grandfather. But now his dad is leaving, his military reserve unit called to serve 14 months in Iraq, and the older sons are either away at boarding school, college o More...

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Dec 26, 2009

The Reading Countess rated it:

This book was recommended to me by a friend/author, and so the bar was set high when I received it in the mail. I was not disappointed. I have read a few books about kids whose parents are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan (trying to seize the moment of TIMELINESS, I suppose). However, the twists in this plot make it a stand-out favorite. Set on a rural working ranch, Brother is the youngest of five boys striving to find his niche in the world. At just twelve years of age, he is thrust into a very More...

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Apr 16, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

HEART OF A SHEPHERD is a beautiful book by first-time author Rosanne Parry. It draws the reader right into life on an Oregon ranch and into the life of a spiritual family dedicated to the land, their country, and one another.

Brother is the youngest of five boys raised on the family ranch. Soon, Brother will be gone to a high school boarding school, but for now it's up to him to help his father, gran More...

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Feb 27, 2010

Josiah rated it:

Within the first several years after the beginning of the second U.S. war in Iraq, novels for readers of all ages began to emerge that featured themes related to the war. In my view, Rosanne Parry's Heart of a Shepherd is one of the best and most insightful of these books.

Right from the captivating open sequence it is clear that there is a lot of unique power to this book. Brother's description of the chess game that he is playing versus his grandfather comes vividly alive wi More...

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Jan 10, 2011

Teresa rated it:

Loved the picture of this boy's life in rural Oregon, and the hardships he faces as his dad goes off to Iraq with the Reserves. His older brothers are gone, too; one's in the service and 2 are at boarding high school--the local school is only two rooms, K-8. Brother (his real name is Ignatius) has to take up the chores and responsibilities of running the family ranch with his grandparents. His mom left for Rome years ago--she's an artist.

Told in episodes, titled as months, nearly one More...

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May 30, 2010

Tim rated it:

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Ignatious "Brother" Alderman lives the "typical ranch/farmer life" with his grandparents, older brothers, and father in eastern Oregon. Everyone in his family has served or is currently serving in the military, and when his father is ordered to deploy to Iraq, and his brothers venture off to other commitments, "Brother" takes on the responsibility to watch over and manage the farm until his family returns.

"Heart o More...

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Feb 12, 2011

Beth rated it:

Well-written account of a 12-year old boy, nicknamed "Brother," living in Oregon and learning to be a rancher; when Dad and his National Guard unit are called up to go to Iraq, the boy and his grandparents take over running the homestead. I loved the scenes that took place at the school and the church. The author has a talent for getting readers into the mind and heart of this young man. The story moves along well, the characters are fleshed out and believable, and the ending is satisf More...

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Dec 08, 2011

Erin rated it:

Heart of a Shepherd
by Rosanne Perry
When I was in college, guys in my class were called up to go fight in Desert Storm. Right in the middle of the semester these guys had to quit going to school and go to war. I was really freaked out by that because they were my classmates and some of them my friends. Have you ever known someone who had to go to Iraq? If so, you may relate to this book even better than me. Brother, the son of a long line of soldiers, is left to run the family farm in More...

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Jul 29, 2011

Lisa rated it:

I started Rosanne Parry's book Heart of a Shepherd at 9:30pm and didn't go to sleep until I'd finished it that same night. This is a heartwarming coming-of-age story about Ignatius, a pre-teen boy facing the biggest challenge of his life. His father is called up to serve in Iraq and his older brothers are off at school or serving in the military. Ignatius (known as Brother) must manage the ranch with his grandparents and the hired hand. Battling the fear and sorrow around having his father away More...

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Jan 12, 2010

Brian rated it:

I have to admit, it took me quite a while to warm up to this story, but in the end it proved gripping, emotional and powerful. "Brother" is, at 11 years old, the youngest in a spiritual family of military men and ranchers in rural Oregon. His mother left years earlier, his brothers are off in the military or boarding school, and his father has just been called up for active duty in Iraq. That leaves Brother and his grandparents to keep it all together, and they're not as young as t More...

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Dec 01, 2010

Chase rated it:

In present-day rural Oregon, 11-year-old Ignatius “Brother” Alderman is forced to face the world when his divorced father is deployed to Iraq. Alone with only his grandparents and a hired hand, Brother must take charge of the ranch, keeping the promise he made to his father: the ranch will be the same way he left it when he returns. But as the months go on, Brother learns that he was not meant to be a rancher, and he wonders if his father will ever come home. With threats and disappointment sur More...

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Jul 14, 2011

Lindi rated it:

I loved this quiet, powerful story. I loved that the characters are ones you don't often see in contemporary fiction: Brother is the youngest of 4 or 5 boys; he lives with his dad and grandparents on a ranch in eastern Oregon. All of his brothers are either in the military or will be enlisting soon and his father is in the Reserves and is being shipped out to Iraq along with many of the adults in their farm community. That's how these folks survive ranching in this day and age -- by enlisting in More...

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Apr 10, 2011

Becky rated it:

3 1/2 stars. A debut novel. A 2012 Rebecca Caudill nominee.

When his father's army reserve unit ships off to Iraq, 12-year-old Brother is left to mind the family's Oregon ranch with his grandfather, grandmother and an itinerant farmhand. The responsibility of helping to keep the ranch running and worry over his father safety in a war zone weigh heavily on Brother. His loving family's closeness and their strong spiritual life help Brother through the many months of his father's absence More...

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Feb 17, 2010

Belinda rated it:

2-17-10
I just finished reading Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry. If you have not already read this book you must stop immediately whatever you are doing, buy a copy – buy several; you’ll be glad you did – and read it. It is the most poignant, touching, frightening, strong, patriotic, funny, lyrical, spiritual, sad, celebratory, triumphant, brilliant bit of literature I have held in my hands in a long time; perhaps ever. Boys are going to love this story because of the way it will speak More...

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Jun 04, 2009

Kristen rated it:

Everyone changes in the face of war. Brother’s family is no exception when his father is called to active duty in Iraq. While is siblings are away at school and in army training, Brother is left at home alone with his grandparents to run the ranch. At night after putting in a man’s day of work Brother watches the stars for the Herdsman constellation, picked by Brother and his father to watch over the family. While Brother strives to keep the ranch running perfectly, he falls into greater tra More...

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May 23, 2009

Mary Ann rated it:

As we celebrate Memorial Day, I'd like to take a moment to think about the families who have sent fathers, sons and brothers to fight in war. The Heart of a Shepherd, by Rosanne Parry, tells the story of an twelve-year old boy whose father is sent to fight in Iraq with the rest of his reserve unit. I was very moved by this story, especially because it shared with me a perspective that is so far away from my experiences here in Oakland, and yet such an important part of our American experiences i More...

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Jan 21, 2010

Jess rated it:

A slim but moving story about a rural family of ranchers and soldiers who are spiritually inclined - doesn't exactly sound exciting, does it? But for readers who like stories with great characters and vivid settings, this is a treat. It's also not a dull, actionless story. Sure, a big focus of the book is on Brother's thoughts and feelings, as he stays home on the Eastern Oregon ranch with his grandparents, while his dad is in Iraq and his brothers are off at school. But the details about ru More...

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Jul 27, 2011

Jay rated it:

While I really liked the description of the land and the characters, something didn't quite click with me in this book. I usually really enjoy reading about people living a different life than I am and learning about what they're doing, so I would've expected to really like this book. I liked the way the story was told, where we hear detailed events from every few months of passing time. An author trying to tell everything that happened in the times in between would've just annoyed me. The endin More...

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